Wednesday, 23 November 2011

This title will never see the light of day. After project completion, it was decided the programme would take a different direction, rendering this title unsuitable to the content of the programme. Nevertheless - here it is.

Tuesday, 8 November 2011

This was an interesting simple job that proved a little harder than it looks! The original weather was dull and dreary for the shoot, with postponements due to water droplets on the camera lens. The shot had to match the original opening sequence - which was shot in the summer time, not mid - November. So I used 3d tracking software to track the move and proceeded to fix up the scene.

Thursday, 27 October 2011

I should have stuck this up a long time ago. The look of RTE Jr was created by Conor Cassidy and produced and animated by myself. Great fun working on these, we packed a lot in so they would have a long shelf life. We hope that kids gradually notice different bits and pieces in them over time. The project is actually an even mix between 2d and 3d. Each ident here is back to back with Halloween and Xmas. There will be more of these produced over time.

I am currently rummaging about my archive of work. I'll start posting some stuff that I think was interesting over the next little while, this is one to get started.

This SFX shot was made for a Primetime documentary about tyre dumping in Ireland and exploitation of government incentives. It's a simple shot and the result is suitably eerie. It makes me think of shots in Kubrick's 'The Shining'.
//Glen Forde - Art Direction

Friday, 6 May 2011

So this is a foray into full 3d rigging and character setup and animation. SetSpy is a character used to promote 'behind the scenes' footage in RTE. This is a spot promoting the television website. I created, rigged and animated the character. SetSpy was originally a purchased model - with about a day's modifications done in Softimage.

Monday, 18 April 2011

This brief for this job was essentially to make the RTE News Studio look bigger and more impressive than it actually is. An artificial 'other side' of the studio was built in 3d complete with TV cameras with blinking lights, to look more pleasing than the existing restrictive wall and unsightly cables and accoutrements. A gobo light effect was then placed on the floor with the title of the bulletin. Creating this in 3d meant I could get accurate reflections in the floor etc. So everyday it is overlay-ed on the real live shot to give the impression of a more impressive, cohesive studio setup. All in a day's work for the artificial nature of television.

Friday, 15 April 2011

This was a full 3d and VFX job for RTE New Season Launch 2010. For those unfamiliar - RTE is a public service broadcaster in Ireland, in the same vein as the BBC in the UK. This piece was made for a press launch in RTE and used subsequently in on-air promotions on RTE. I am very happy with how this turned out, I feel it took on a life of it's own and has the feeling of a real epic space that you could almost walk into. This has a lot to do with Alan Dunne, the designer and art director on the project. The music is by Alexander Desplat (http://www.alexandredesplat.net/us/news-e.htm). This track was not used in the final draft (or broadcast) but it was the track that drove the design and mood of the animation - so we have included it here. This animation was also used in the promotion of RTE TWO HD in 2011.

Wednesday, 23 March 2011

Broken chair and a brush wrapped in green paper.
This effects shot was achieved by moving the action in 3d space rather than moving the camera in 3d space. Then I created an artificial 3d background and moved it in the inverse direction to simulate the movement of the camera. The camera doesn't actually move in reality or the 3d virtual camera in Softimage doesn't move either. The trick here (much credit to Mick McKeon - Senior designer in RTE), was the use of a broken office chair to rotate Scott and the use of a broken brush wrapped in green paper to rotate him in position. Even the footage was shot on a crappy hybrid cam. You won't find any computerized RED camera rig here with synchronization software, just a broken sweeping brush really.

Tuesday, 22 February 2011

The RTE Sport department asked me to generate the 2 GAA cups in 3d for various graphics in 2008.They were built by analyzing photographs of the original cups. I photographed them in person in theGAA museum in Croke Park, this turned out to be a waste of time however. The original cups were so badlydamaged, they weren't a suitable reference for the build so I had to use images of the replicas.I even saw 'CONNO' scratched into one of the originals, it looked like it was done with a compass! They reallywere two battered entities.

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I am a 3d Animator/VFX Artist,script author for After Effects.
My work has entailed motion graphic design and production for TV, Film and the internet. I am currently the lead 3d animation/SFX in RTE's Graphic Design Dept. Previous to RTE I worked exclusively in compositing for Lightstream CGI working on a film for NBC. I also dip into illustration and more recently scripting. However what I really get my kicks out of is pencil and paper!